Choice Bonding
by Michael Weyer
Summary: In the wake of Sofia's Choice, Betty and Amanda find a bit of common ground. All reviews welcomed.


Choice Bonding

By Michael Weyer

I don't own _Ugly Betty_ or any of its characters. This is something that hit me after watching "Sofia's Choice" so spoilers ahead…

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Amanda could tell Betty was in the office before she even reached it. That odor of polyester and the fact she was the only woman working at _Mode_ who didn't wear perfume was a dead giveaway. Putting on a stern expression, Amanda stalked in. "What are you doing here?"

Betty was sitting on a couch, flipping through some folders before her. "Daniel's gone."

Amanda stopped. "What?"

Betty sighed. "He took off for the airport, I'm trying to see if there's any clues as to where he went."

Amanda closed her eyes and shook her head. "That bitch…that unbelievable bitch."

"Hearing you say that means she must be bad," Betty noted as she tossed the folder aside. "But, yeah, you're right. If I was more of a swearer, I'd have ripped into her."

Amanda raised an eyebrow at her. "Your own boss?"

"Former boss," Betty corrected. "I quit right after the show."

Amanda couldn't hide her surprise. "Really? Thought that was your dream job?"

"Just like Daniel thought he was the dream woman," Betty said, brushing her messy hair back. "All that talk about empowerment and wanting to help me, it was all crap! God, I could kill her!"

Amanda's wicked smile returned. "Well, actually, I just beat the salsa out of her in the elevator."

"Really?" Betty perked up. "Wow, wish I could have seen that."

Amanda flipped open her cell phone as she sat next to Betty. She keyed a command and handed the phone to the other woman. Betty's eyes tracked the series of images. "Wow…good beat-down." She peered closely at one image. "Whoa, you got almost the entire strap up in there…"

"Thanks," Amanda beamed with pride. She took the phone back and wiped it off. "She actually seemed surprised that I would do it. She even said that I should be happy with what she did, giving Daniel a taste of what he gave me."

"That is so unfair."

"I know!" Amanda went on, not realizing she'd just agreed with Betty. "I knew what Daniel was like when I started to see him and so did every other woman he's been with. He didn't lie to us, he didn't make promises and he sure as hell didn't make us think he'd fallen in love and were willing to marry us!"

"Exactly," Betty said. "And honestly, what is this message she's sending? That a woman has to cheat, lie and manipulate to get a guy to marry her? How does that empower us?"

Amanda took off one of her shoes, testing the slightly cracked heel. Betty saw a tiny flash of red and hair on it but decided not to press the issue. "I should have seen it when Daniel was complaining about her 'boyfriend.' I mean, he was way, way too perfect, he had to be a ringer."

"Hypocrite," Betty said. "That's what she is, just a hypocrite! You know what the staff at her office is like? Her assistant is a less attractive version of me!"

Amanda literally went cross-eyed as her mind tried to handle such an image. Betty decided not to mention how, for some bizarre reason, Ruthie reminded her of Amanda in order to avoid smoke coming out of the woman's ears. "And she's got another in a wheelchair and pretty much the rest are just…well, normal-looking."

"And it's located _here_?!" Amanda yelped, ready to tear out of the building in fear.

Betty put a hand to stop her. "I know. At first, I thought it was nice but then I saw her coming in dressed to the nines, flaunting herself and I know the truth. She is deliberately making sure that she's the most attractive woman there and everyone knows it." She shook her head. "I can't believe I fell for her line…"

"Well, maybe you were blinded by the whole minority bond thing," Amanda offered.

Betty sighed. "That's another thing. She seems to think she's justified because she had to work from nothing and Daniel never did. Like it's his fault they were born in the families they were."

Amanda shrugged. "Well, take some satisfaction that she'll need the extra cash from her job to pay for a makeover."

Betty frowned. "You didn't tear out her hair, did you?"

Amanda seemed offended. "Please, I'm not an animal!"

"What if she presses charges?"

Amanda laughed out loud. "And admit an assistant beat the hell out of her? No chance. Besides, she's in enough hot water with Bradford."

"I thought he wasn't going to fire her."

Amanda grinned conspiratorially. "Saurez, Daniel's dad may care about the bottom line more than anything. But trust me, nobody humiliates his name in public and gets away with it. He'll find a way to make her pay, believe me."

Betty smiled. "Good."

Amanda looked her over. "So what are you going to do? Cause I'm telling you know, if you're trying to get your job back, forget it."

"I figured," Betty sighed. "I don't know, I really don't. With Daniel gone, I don't even know if there's a job to be had."

A look of horror came across Amanda's face. "Oh, God. If Wilhelmina takes over…"

Both women shuddered in absolute terror. There was a long pause before Amanda stood up. "You wanna grab something to eat?"

Betty looked up in obvious confusion. "Um…what?"

Amanda rolled her eyes. "I do eat, contrary to what people might think. And right now, I'm in the mood for something sweet and filling."

"But…with me?"

Amanda held up her hands. "Hey, hey, not getting friendly or _L Word_ or anything. I just…" She shrugged. "Just figured we could use a break, is all."

Betty narrowed her eyes. "This wouldn't be because I still have a company card Sofia gave me?"

Amanda smirked. "You know a better way to eat than on her dime?"

Betty nodded and picked up her bag. "Sure thing."

They began to walk when Amanda stopped and turned. "Oh, um, you mind if we take separate elevators just in case someone sees us?"

"No problem," Betty said. "I was worried about you for a minute."

Amanda just ignored her as she walked through the office. With a sigh, Betty shuffled her bag and headed to the elevators herself, aware of the dismissing glances around her. It was good to be back where she belonged.


End file.
